Father Figure
by i.death-chan
Summary: AU. Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises, finds a little girl unconscious in the middle of the road. Little does he know, the little girl can bring him and his new pinkhaired personal assistant together. SasuSaku.
1. A game of hide and seek

I must be crazy for already posting another story.

Oh well, as long as people like this story.

By the way, there's going to be an OC Sasuke's engaged to, but there's no competition, I swear. She's just there because… well… because she's going to become… let's just say, a little problem for the romance.

Enjoy.

;;;The debut chapter of Father Figure is dedicated to **HPBabe91**, who has:

;Never failed to make me laugh with her thoughtful and witty reviews.

;Really great writing skills (Read her story, it's mad awesome.)

;A stick she's going to chase me with if I don't update soon.

;An obsession for the Mets. GO METS!

-

**F a t h e r F i g u r e**

**Summary**:AU Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises, finds a little girl unconscious in the middle of the road. Little does he know, the little girl can bring him and his new pink-haired personal assistant together. (SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre**: Romance/Drama/Humor

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 1: A game of hide-and-seek**

-

-

-

_"Bye, Sasuke-kun. I love you!"_

"Hn," the raven-haired man grunted and, without waiting for a reply, snapped his slim, black phone shut. _'Why does she bother calling anyway? I never reply to that nuisance.'_

-

**The FF (Father Figure) Files: Uchiha Sasuke.**

**Name: **Uchiha Sasuke.

**Age: **23.

**Height: **6'1"

**Family: **Uchiha Mikoto (Mother, deceased); Uchiha Fugaku (Father, deceased); Uchiha Itachi (Elder brother, deceased); Uchiha Tsuki (Sister-in-law; deceased)

**Occupation: **CEO of Uchiha Enterprises; Member of K4 (Also known as the Konoha Four, Famous Four, etc.)

**Status: **Engaged to Komi Namanomi (Future inheritor of Komi Corporation.)

-

A split second after he had hung up on his fiancée (oh, how he hated that girl with a passion) his phone started vibrating, again.

Muttering curses again, he looked at the bright, glowing screen:

_The Dobe._

Sporting half a mind to just ignore the call, he slid open his phone. "Sasuke here."

_"Sasuke-teme!"_

Sasuke's lips quirked down as he could just visualize the deep, cerulean blue eyes and messy, spiked head of Uzumaki Naruto.

-

**The FF Files: Uzumaki Naruto.**

**Name: **Uzumaki Naruto.

**Age: **23.

**Height: **6'0"

**Family: **Unknown.

**Occupation: **Works as "second-in-command" for Uchiha Enterprises; Member of K4 (Also known as the Konoha Four, Famous Four, etc.)

**Status: **Engaged to Hyuuga Hinata.

-

"Dobe, what do you want?" Sasuke was very, _very _grumpy. And everyone knew better than to mess with even a slightly pissed Uchiha, especially Uchiha Sasuke.

_"Sasuke-teme, Namanomi here is seriously getting on my nerves. She's always ranting about '_how Sasuke-kun won't talk to me'_. Can't you go buy her a muzzle or something? Seriously, I can't understand why you can't break the engagement with that whore."_

"You go buy her a damn muzzle," Sasuke growled into the phone. The only reason he put up with her nonsense was because it was supposed to be "good publicity," as Kakashi put it. Sasuke snorted inwardly. Seriously, then why couldn't Kakashi be engaged to that little brat? Besides, canceling the engagement would be too troublesome, as a certain someone would put it, with what was happening to him now.

"Anyway," Sasuke continued, being the type of person to get things to the point, "What do you want?"

_"Hmph. This is _exactly _why you're so boring sometimes, Sasuke-teme." _Nonetheless, the hyperactive blonde got to the point. _"The lazy-ass genius might have a lead on how to find your – shit! Gotta go, teme. ARGH, WHERE'S SECURITY WHEN YOU NEED THEM?!"_

The onyx-eyed man smirked as he could practically _see _the horde of fangirls chase after the cerulean-eyed loudmouth. Heck, he could hear them screaming Naruto's name. Setting his phone back down on the passenger's seat, he wondered what the genius of K4 found out about his little problem.

-

**The FF Files: K4**

**Who? **Compromised of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Hyuuga Neji.

**What? **K4, also known as the Konoha Four, or Famous Four, is compromised of the four most powerful men in Konohagakure. K4, other than being famous businessmen in their own respectable fields, also occasionally model for Hyuuga Fashions.

**When? **K4 banded together when Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru was 16 (Neji was 17) in their high school years.

**Where? **K4 usually can be seen anywhere, but they are still enigmatic, according to their fangirls. Their "main base" is the Konoha Estate, K4's mansion home.

**Why? **N/A.

-

Sasuke frowned. So many problems. _'Itachi-nii, did you _have _to just die on me like that?'_

-

_Sasuke scowled as he maneuvered through the complicated roads of Konoha in his dark car. _'Where the hell is Itachi?!'

_Suddenly, his phone vibrated, nearly causing him to jump a bit. "What the…" he muttered as he looked at the screen:_

Itachi.

_Quickly, he slid the phone open. "Itachi! Where the hell were you-"_

_"Is this Uchiha Sasuke?"_

_What the hell…? This wasn't Itachi's voice… But being the calm and composed Uchiha he was, he answered in a monotone. "Yes, who might this be?" It definitely wasn't the dobe's voice, or any other member of K4._

_"This is the head officer of Konoha's police force. Uchiha-san, can you please head to the hospital? It's kind of an emergency…"_

-

Itachi and Tsuki (his wife) had gotten in a gory car accident – they passed away fifteen hours after horrible incident.

But their 6-year old daughter had gone missing.

Unfortunately, Itachi and Tsuki, with their child, had lived a more secluded life on the borders of Suna so no one knew how the little girl looked like. The day when they had crashed in Konoha was supposed to be a family reunion.

He unconsciously gripped the leather steering wheel with more force.

Now, he was one a wild goose chase, a pointless game of hide-and-seek.

-

_"Okay, let's get this over with." Sasuke sat down on the leather chair and crossed his arms. "You're Itachi's lawyer?"_

_"Yes," the bespectacled man nodded. "Nice to meet you, I'm Takahashi Aki. I'm here to talk to you about Uchiha Itachi-san's will."_

_"Hn." Sasuke uttered his favorite word. "So…?" He had work._

_"Well," the man across from the now only remaining Uchiha – other than the missing niece – shuffled with some papers. "Everything that Itachi-san owned goes to you."_

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "That's it?" _'Itachi would never give me something for free without asking for something in return.'

_"Well… you're supposed to take his daughter in as your own…"_

'Itachi, you bastard.' _"Isn't she missing?"_

_"Well, you'll need to find her…" _

_"Hn, whatever." Sasuke stood up and started walking out on the fumbling lawyer's office. _

_As a certain Uzumaki would put it, this sucked big time._

-

"Damn that bastard of a broth – What the hell?!"

Sasuke swerved, avoiding hitting the body of what looked to be an unconscious child. "Fuck, that was close."

While thanking God he had been the only one driving on the road, he got out of the car to inspect the figure.

It was a little girl with jet black hair. He couldn't see her eye color since her eyes were closed, but she looked as if she was around 5 or 6. There was nothing wrong with her except for a couple of scrapes and scratches, he observed.

She looked like she was breathing.

He sighed; he couldn't just leave the girl lying in the middle of the road. Carefully, he picked the small girl up and made his way to his car. After moving his phone and manila folders from the passenger's seat, he put the seat down as far as it could go and strapped the girl in. _'How more fucked up could by life get?'_

Well, Sasuke, get ready for the twists and turns of life.

-

-

_Click._

Sasuke tensed as the little girl shifted slightly in his arms – if the dobe or anyone else found him, he'd probably be humiliated for the rest of his life.

Even if the Konoha Estate was a mansion, it was really divided into little apartments, so that each of the guys would get their privacy.

Sasuke never thought the way their home was built could actually be used for his benefit until now.

He glanced at the digital clock.

3:18 AM.

Trying to make as little noise as possible, he entered his room and placed the child on his bed.

He'd never tried sleeping on his pretty large room couch before. Hm… didn't the person that sold it to him claim "it was like sitting on a cloud"?

He wondered if sitting on a cloud was the same as sleeping on a cloud. Well, it doesn't hurt to try, right?

-

-

"Hey, mister… Wake up."

Sasuke ignored the tiny voice in his head – he assumed it was in his head – and tried to go back to sleep.

"Mister…"

He turned over on the miraculously comfortable couch.

Wait… couch?

Then, all of last night's events came back to him.

The will, Namanomi (yuck.), and…

… the little girl.

He sat up abruptly and immediately heard a tiny shriek of surprise, saw wide, mossy green eyes, and a thud resounded in his spacious room.

He looked down on the floor and saw the same girl rubbing her sore rear end. "Geez, you scared me, mister."

He got off of the couch and squatted so that he was nearly eye-to-eye with the little girl. "Hi, my name is Sasuke," he said carefully. He didn't want to scare her… "What's your name?"

The little girl zoned out for a moment. "My… name?" she wondered vaguely. "I can't… remember…"

Sasuke sighed. Medicine wasn't his expertise, but it was obvious this girl had amnesia. Great. "Let's just call you… Fumei… for now."

The little girl immediately brightened. "I like that name!"

Sasuke gave her a small smile – she reminded him of someone he couldn't really place…

"SASUKE-TEME!!!!!"

Fumei's forest green eyes widened as she let out a small "eep" of surprise. She fell off the wide couch as a blonde entered Sasuke's room.

"SASUKE-TEME, WHERE WERE YOU LAST – whoa, who's _that_?"

"Dobe, _kindly _don't scare Fumei," Sasuke growled through gritted teeth, rubbing his temples. It was only six in the morning and Uzumaki Naruto had already managed to wake up the remaining two of the K4.

"Naruto, you're so troublesome," someone grumbled from Sasuke's doorway. The speaker of the voice was also rubbing his temples, his pineapple hair more disheveled than usual. His usually bored, dark eyes were almost glaring reproachfully at the only fully awake member of K4. "I was planning to sleep the whole day off."

"Good morning to you too, Shikamaru," Naruto said sarcastically.

-

**The FF Files: Nara Shikamaru.**

**Name: **Nara Shikamaru

**Age: **23.

**Height: **5'11"

**Family: **N/A.

**Occupation: **CEO of Nara Technology; Head of Technology in Uchiha Enterprises; Member of K4 (Also known as the Konoha Four, Famous Four, etc.)

**Status: **Engaged to Yamanaka Ino

-

"Naruto, just shut up." Another man walked in, his long, coffee-colored hair swaying with an imaginary breeze. His usually impassive, opaque eyes were narrowed in irritation. "How am I ever supposed to meditate with your loud voice ringing through my head?"

-

**The FF Files: Hyuuga Neji.**

**Name: **Hyuuga Neji.

**Age: **24.

**Height: **6'2"

**Family: **Hyuuga Hiashi (uncle); Hyuuga Hizashi (father, deceased); Hyuuga Mitsuki (mother, deceased); Hyuuga Hinata (cousin); Hyuuga Hanabi (cousin).

**Occupation: **CEO of Hyuuga Designs; "Ambassador" for Uchiha Enterprises; Member of K4 (Also known as the Konoha Four, Famous Four, etc.)

**Status: **Engaged to Tenten (Last name unknown)

-

"I'm _soooooo _sorry, Mr. If-you-don't-believe-then-fate-will-smite-you, that I disturbed your meditation," Naruto said mockingly.

"Dobe," Neji grunted. "Don't do that next time then, if you're so sorr – what the _hell _is that, Uchiha?"

All eyes turned to Fumei, who blinked confusedly.

"Huh? Me?"

Everyone was silent until-

"KYAA!!! YOU'RE SO CUTE!!!"

"Naruto, you sound like a girl," Sasuke deadpanned as Naruto started gushing over a freaked out Fumei.

"Uchiha, where'd you get a…" Neji, for once, was at a loss for words.

"I found her on the middle of the road, and I took her here," Sasuke explained with a frown. "She seems to have amnesia."

"Hm…" Shikamaru mused. "Well, we'll worry about that later – you need a new PA, remember? You need to get to Uchiha Enterprises by seven thirty."

"Dammit," Sasuke groaned. "It's six thirty already."

"Well, teme," Naruto said matter-of-factly, putting Fumei off his shoulders, "It's your fault you fired your last PA."

"It's not my fault," Sasuke muttered. "She tried to break into my room last time, and tied to steal my boxers so she could add it to her Sasuke shrine."

-

-

_6:40 AM._

Something – or someone – shifted on a queen-sized bed and pulled the blankets over its head.

"Five more minutes…"

_6:45 AM._

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!"

The figure bolted out of the bed and stared at the digital clock for a second. Then, her bright green eyes widened with realization.

"Holy shit, I'm going to be late!"

-

**The FF Files: Haruno Sakura.**

**Name: **Haruno Sakura.

**Age: **23.

**Height: **5'6"

**Family: **Haruno Kiyo (Father, deceased); Haruno Megumi (Mother, deceased).

**Occupation: **Unemployed.

**Status: **Single, and (quote) loving it, baby! (end quote).

-

She sprinted toward the small bathroom, and five minutes later, emerged with wet pink hair and a hair dryer.

"Stupid, unreliable alarm clock," she grumbled as she jammed the plug in. "Why today?!"

After finishing drying her long pink hair, she grabbed a couple of strawberries from the counter and ran out the door to her car.

"Why does my job interview have to be _today_?!"

Poor Sakura. She doesn't know what she's going to be dragged into.

-

-

"Sasuke-kunnn!!!!! I missed you so muc – what in God's name is _that_?!"

"Namanomi, kindly do not shout in my ear," Sasuke muttered as Fumei hid behind him, clutching onto the back of his black jacket.

"But Sasuke-kun, just what… who is sh – "

"Namanomi-san, please excuse Sasuke," Shikamaru interrupted as Sasuke sighed in relief; Sasuke knew that Shikamaru also disliked his fiancée, as well as everyone else that knew her true self. "Sasuke needs to choose his PA."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned goofily and picked up Fumei and set her on his shoulders, letting her tower above him and letting her get a view on the Uchiha Enterprises building. It had only been a couple of hours but Fumei had already taken a liking to Naruto. "Then, Namanomi, ta ta!"

-

-

"NEXT!"

"Seriously, Namanomi, I don't know why you have to be here with me," Sasuke said, annoyed, as he, for the millionth time, tried to pry his fiancée off his arm.

"Nonsense, Sasuke-kun!" Namanomi sang. "That one looked a little more of a slut than a PA! Who's going to protect you from your evil fangirls?"

From his left, he heard Naruto snicker; wasn't Namanomi a fangirl as well? Shikamaru looked irritated, and Neji looked, well… unemotional.

"Haruno Sakura," Shikamaru called for the next potential PA of Uchiha Sasuke.

No one came in.

"Haruno Sakura," Shikamaru called again.

"Just skip her," a blonde female next to Shikamaru suggested. "But you know, that name sounds a bit familiar."

-

**The FF Files: Yamanaka Ino.**

**Name: **Yamanaka Ino.

**Age: **23.

**Height: **5'7"

**Family: **N/A

**Occupation: **Model for Hyuuga Fashions; Part of the Uchiha Enterprises committee.

**Status: **Engaged to Nara Shikamaru.

-

"It does, doesn't it?" a brunette asked from Neji's side remarked. "I don't know where I heard that name before…"

-

**The FF Files: Tenten.**

**Name: **Tenten (last name unknown).

**Age: **23.

**Height: **5'8"

**Family: **N/A

**Occupation: **CEO of Konoha Weapons; Model for Hyuuga Fashions; Part of the Uchiha Enterprises committee.

**Status: **Engaged to Hyuuga Neji.

-

"Whatever," Shikamaru muttered. "Going on, Ne – "

A pink-haired blur rushed in. "I'm sorry I'm late!"

Sasuke raised a brow. This was…

The person straightened, and Sasuke saw a pretty short pink-haired woman, her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her jade green eyes were covered with unattractive, horn-rimmed glasses, and she looked like she was literally sagging with her loose outfit.

**_'Something tells me she's really hot if we get to know her,' _**inner Sasuke suggested.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," she offered nervously.

Neji frowned disapprovingly. "You're late Haruno-sa – "

"FOREHEAD GIRL?!" Ino screeched, causing Shikamaru, the person closest to her, to groan in irritation and cover his ears.

"Ino… pig?" the pink-haired woman gasped in a disbelieving tone.

The room went silent; everyone knew that anyone that called Yamanaka Ino a pig would be dead – the poor, nameless wannabe-model in the hospital was proof.

Then, Ino launched at Sakura. "Sakura-chan! It's been such a long time!"

"Yes," a quiet voice agreed.

Sakura looked up at the pixie-like form and light, pupil-less of her other best friend and smiled. "It sure has, Hinata-chan."

-

**The FF Files: Hyuuga Hinata.**

**Name: **Hyuuga Hinata.

**Age: **23.

**Height: **5'5"

**Family: **Hyuuga Hiashi (father); Hyuuga Hitani (mother, deceased); Hyuuga Hizashi (uncle, deceased); Hyuuga Neji (cousin); Hyuuga Hanabi (sister).

**Occupation: **Model for Hyuuga Fashions, Part of the Uchiha Enterprises committee.

**Status: **Engaged to Uzumaki Naruto.

-

"This is Sakura," Tenten explained to Neji. "She, Ino, Hinata, and I were best friends in grade school before Sakura moved away to Suna in the fifth grade."

"You changed so much, Sakura," Ino analyzed Sakura critically. "And just _what _are you wearing?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "The drama queen, as always, eh? I'm sorry I got up late."

"I like her!" Namanomi chirped suddenly.

Sasuke snorted inwardly. _'You like her because you think she has no chance against you.'_

But indeed, Haruno Sakura fascinated Sasuke. She wasn't ogling at him, or obsessed with his looks and riches. Heck, she probably wouldn't care if he _complimented _her!

"I like her too."

Sasuke turned to Fumei. "Oh really? Why then?"

"Because she's not staring at you like the rest of the people, and she looks like she can actually work," Fumei said. "Besides, she noticed me too. When she came in, she smiled at me the _first_."

"Oh, I couldn't help but stare at the cute girl," Sakura grinned sheepishly. "She looks just like you, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke blinked. Uchiha-san? Not Sasuke-kun? Or Uchiha-kun?

Haruno Sakura was once fascinating person indeed.

Neji smirked at the look on Sasuke's face. "Well, I guess our hide-and-seek game for Uchiha's new PA is over."

Sasuke scowled at Neji's smirk and Sakura blinked confusedly. No questions? No nothing?

"Haruno Sakura, welcome to the Uchiha Enterprises staff."

-

This is going to be one hell of a roller coaster ride.

-

-

-

Chapter one of Father Figure up.

It didn't come out the way I wanted to, but it was close enough.

By the way, Namanomikomi means superficial, and shousokufumei means untraceable or long lost – I just took Fumei out of shousokufumei to get her name. Heh, it kind of fits. Also, my friend made up Neji and Hinata's mother/aunt's names.

Um… why do I seem less and less talkative every time I update? I need feedback/criticism/flames/etc! Don't just sit there! Do something!

Ooh, Do Something! I want to listen to the song now. (Friend: What song?? Lols.)


	2. Okaasan

Death-chan's back!

I'm sorry for the inconvenience my computer and I caused you. Although I am not really well-known in the Naruto fanfiction society, I was sad to learn that some people thought I was going to give up my fanfics just because I didn't update.

Well, really, it was because of my messed-up computer… and my laziness. I'm not really someone who diligently sits in front of her computer all day, trying to come up with something to write. I write whenever I get struck with inspiration. So sometimes, my writing sessions could be a few minutes long or a few hours long, depending on how filled with ideas my head is.

But now I just had to write; the support of so many people just made me determined to try to fix my computer problems, and even though this retarded computer of mine keeps shutting down, I've been trying and I actually finished chapter 2.

I mean, 82 reviews for chapter 1? Crazy. I really love you guys.

So I thank **ddulce71**, **TrinityFire13Guardian137**, **sallyluv16**, **xxxemiko.itooshixxx**, **mtm123**, **DarknessFlameWolf**, **Sakura-hime9**, **darkpetaltaki**, **sasukefan8**, **inurdreams21**, **Severus Hatake-Hyuga**, **Beating Hearts Baby-face**, **shadowinthesky**, **MelodiesHeart**, **ninja-kyoko**, **loca4life**, **Poet of the Moon**, **dianalovely1995**, **the blanket**, **Kairi-Sama**, **sasukeanime79**, **Purplecherry5**, **Da Cute Snowbunny**, **Mate-of-Sesshy**, **Sad4ngel**, **Azalea14**, **shadow angel 101**, **SakuraUchiha4**, **cookiee-chan**, **Nightwish26**, **Little Minamino**, **neon kun**, **Biyomon Princess**, **sakurasage272**, **SakuraDarkBlossom**, **Sakura-Girl 2005**, **chnzluv**, **xPrincessGothx**, **withering-blackrose**, **-pUrpLy sTaR-**, **ke-ke999**, **Demoneyes 14**, **Hersheys Rocks**, **Minakui**, **Winter Thunder**, **XXDragonheart6XX**, **Kawaii IceCream**, **animeforever24**, **-my-name-is-V-**, **fleeting thought**, **Assasinated Dreams**, **Jester08**, **Acentha1022**, **furryhatlover2543**, **Shinkutsuki**, **missysillivan**, **mak0-ch1**, **danielie**, **Blackblossom93**, **LoveStories**, **BuBbLe GuM cHeRrY**, **InuyashaLover167**, **young-love**, **kittygoesmeow**, **crescent moon at midnight**, **zenbon zakura**, **SasukeandNejicuties**, **SasSakuNaruHinaNejTenShikaWho**, **Shikachick**, **totally preOccupieD**, **Kairi Aerith**, **Lioness Of the fire**, **Lady Hasumi Takarabe**, **Hakumei.xo**, **reader-not-a-reviewer**, **HPBabe91**, **shinjun9sasusaku**, **Kaze-Yume No Tenshi**, **ch3rrylips**, **MomoiroNeko**, **Kid Contagious**, and **lolsuzie** for reviewing. If I forget anyone, I am sincerely sorry. Really.

Enjoy.

-

**F a t h e r F i g u r e**

**Summary**:AU Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises, finds a little girl, unconscious in the middle of the road. Little does he know, the little girl can bring him and his new pink-haired personal assistant together. (SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre**: Romance/Drama/Humor

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 2: Okaa-san**

-

_Last time on Father Figure:_

_"I like her too."_

_Sasuke turned to Fumei. "Oh really? Why then?"_

_"Because she's not staring at you like the rest of the people, and she looks like she can actually work," Fumei said. "Besides, she noticed me too. When she came in, she smiled at me the _first_."_

"Oh, I couldn't help but stare at the cute girl," Sakura grinned sheepishly. "She looks just like you, Uchiha-san."

_Sasuke blinked. Uchiha-san? Not Sasuke-kun? Or Uchiha-kun? _

_Haruno Sakura was once fascinating person indeed._

_Neji smirked at the look on Sasuke's face. "Well, I guess our hide-and-seek game for Uchiha's new PA is over."_

_Sakura blinked confusedly. No questions? No nothing?_

_"Haruno Sakura, welcome to the Uchiha Enterprises staff."_

_-_

_This is going to be one hell of a roller coaster ride._

-

-

-

After working for a couple of weeks at Uchiha Enterprises, Haruno Sakura learned that Uchiha Sasuke was really an easy guy to please when it came to work. Of course, maybe it was because of her awesome accounting skills and whatnot.

However, there were a few things that got her boss easily irritated:

1. Interrupting his meetings unless called down.

2. Coffee with even the tiniest bit of sugar in it.

3. Being late to work.

4. Naruto.

5…

NAMANOMI.

Sure, Sakura had to admit that Komi Namanomi was quite pretty. But she didn't have the "sexy" aura like Ino, the "cute" radiance of Hinata, or the "down to earth" style of Tenten. The Komi Corporation heiress, with her long, odd brown hair, slightly slanted eyes, long, pointy nose, and thin, twitching lips made her look like some kind of cat.

And if there was one thing Namanomi was famous for, it was her clinginess.

Even though Sakura wasn't a big magazine fan, she could tell by covers that the Namanomi and Sasuke coupling was very famous. But she didn't understand; her boss seemed to have almost loathed Namanomi.

_'Well… Uchiha-san isn't really the kind of person to show affection to people like her,' _Sakura thought absently, flipping through a few faxes that had been sent from some business partners recently.

"Sakura-neechan!"

Sakura jumped in surprise and let out a small yelp as Fumei practically appeared out of nowhere. "Fumei!"

Ever since Sakura started working at Uchiha Enterprises, Fumei had instantly bonded with Sakura, and Sakura had immediately felt a connection between Fumei. Now Fumei, when away from Sasuke or Naruto – she liked them the most – was always "enlightening" Sakura with her presence. Fumei even called Sakura nee-chan.

"Sakura-neechan!" The young girl exclaimed as if the two females had been separated for a long time. "What 'cha doin'?"

"Nothing much," Sakura replied back breezily, ruffling her "little sister's" hair, causing the green-eyed girl to pout. "I'm just organizing some papers for Uchiha-san. Why?"

"Man!" Fumei whined, sticking out her lower lip in an adorable pout. "Everyone's too busy to play with me. Sasuke-niichan's always in meetings and Naruto-niichan's always busy with meetings _and _he's always going out with Hinata-neechan!"

Sakura smiled at Fumei's attitude. "Tell you what. I'll take you out to the bakery when I get my lunch break."

The small, dark haired girl gave a squeal of delight; Fumei just loved the bakery for some reason. She would roam the whole place, her dark green orbs looking at the many types of bread and pastries, occasionally taking small bits of samplers. However, it was only when she was done with her "observations" that she bought something to eat.

"I hope lunch break comes soon," Fumei said delightedly. "I was passing by with Naruto-niichan and Sasuke-niichan because Shika-niichan and Neji-niichan were going to their own companies first before coming here and I saw the most _tasty _looking bread shaped like a bone. And it had little chocolate chips in it!"

Sakura laughed at the young girl's enthusiasm. "All right then, it's a date."

Fumei grinned, showing off her perfect, pearly-white teeth, and gave Sakura a hug. "I wish I knew who my mom was," Fumei said wistfully. "I think my mom would be just like you… nice, pretty, caring, funny… I wish you could be my mom, Sakura-neechan."

Sakura's soft green eyes widened in shock behind her frames. _'Nice… pretty – she's not serious, is she? – caring… funny… Yeah, I wish I had my mother back too, Fumei…' _She hugged Fumei back affectionately. "How about this… I'll be your 'mom' until you remember."

"Can I call you okaa-san?" Fumei looked up at Sakura with those irresistible puppy-dog eyes.

Sakura laughed and pinched Fumei's cheeks. "Of course, my dear _daughter_."

Fumei pulled back with a content expression on her face. "Okaa-san…" she breathed. "Sounds… nice… I like it."

Sakura smiled back at her "daughter". "Me too, Fumei. Me too…"

But their little "mother-daughter" moment was ruined when Sakura's intercom buzzed into life.

_"Sakura, I need you to bring me the spring fashion designs at three o'clock sharp, remember that." _Sasuke's voice came out of the small square box.

"Got it," Sakura replied breezily after she pressed the small red "talk" button. "Is there anything else you would need, Uchiha-san?"

_"Nothing else, just the designs."_

"Okay, Uchiha-san."

-

-

"Are you done yet?"

"No, Fumei. Five more minutes, 'kay?"

"Fine." Fumei stuck out her lower lip in a perfect puppy-dog pout and plopped down on Sakura's lap. "Why is it taking so long for lunch break to come?"

Sakura laughed, finishing off the last sentence for the formal business letter she had to send to the CEO of some leather business. "Okay, Uchiha-san won't mind if I take off a few minutes early. After all, I've finished all the work I was supposed to do today."

"Yipee!" Fumei squealed as she jumped off Sakura's lap, grabbed Sakura's slim hand, and shot toward the revolving doors.

"Fumei," Sakura called laughingly at the enthusiastic six-year old. "Calm down. I have until 2:30 to spend some quality time with you, and it's only one o'clock now."

In which the little girl replied stubbornly, "But that quality time is going to fly by and we won't even notice it."

"True, true." Sakura said agreeably.

-

-

"Are you sure I won't die if I eat this?" Sakura asked skeptically as she poked and prodded the pastry. "It looks a little too… flaky."

"Yes, nee – okaa-san," Fumei said exasperatedly. "Neji-niichan told me that the bread here is special because it's really flaky. But it tastes good."

Sakura sighed at the little girl's logic. _'How is she so smart?'_

Slowly, she tore off a piece of the soft brown bread with her slim fingers and placed it in her mouth.

"Now chew…" Fumei instructed. Sakura, rolling her eyes in a goofy manner to entertain Fumei, chewed exaggeratedly and swallowed.

Then, Sakura gagged, clutched at her throat, and swayed to the side.

"Sa – okaa-san!" Fumei gasped at the choking Sakura, rushing to her side.

But Sakura removed her hands from around her neck and grinned at the 6-year old, who looked scandalized. "Just kidding!"

"Mou, okaa-san! You shouldn't do that!" Fumei protested, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "If you really died…"

Sakura was stricken by how familiar that sounded.

-

"_Sakura-chan! Never do that to your mother again! If you really died…"_

-

The pink-haired woman bent down and hugged the teary girl. "I'm sorry, Fumei-chan…" Sakura whispered as Fumei hugged her back. "Did I scare you?"

Fumei nodded. "Really bad."

"I'm sorry," Sakura said again. "It seemed funny at that time but now…"

"It's alright, okaa-san…" Fumei buried her head into Sakura's black jacket. "I just don't want to lose you."

"Me neither, Fumei…" Sakura murmured, feeling teary herself. "C'mon… other people are waiting to sit here and eat."

"It's only 1:30," Fumei said.

"Well…" Sakura's face brightened up and her eyes, under those grotesque, too-large glasses, lit up with eagerness. "Uchiha-san really hasn't bought you any clothes to wear, has he?"

Fumei's dark, puppy-like eyes widened a bit. "You mean… we're…"

Sakura grinned. "Do you think we could get enough shopping done for you in an hour?"

-

-

"I never want to go shopping again," Fumei groaned.

Sakura grinned a bit tiredly, adjusting the many shopping bags differently so that it would be more comfortable for her to carry. "C'mon, it wasn't so bad. And besides, we got back on time."

"But it's your money," Fumei protested. "You shouldn't have wasted all that money on me."

"Nonsense!" Sakura dismissed Fumei's protest by waving her hand. "I wanted to spend just a bit of little money on my _beautiful _'daughter'".

"Just a little bit of money?" Fumei echoed faintly. "You spent nearly 806 yen **(1)** on me."

"Anything for my _lovely daughter_," Sakura cooed, faking a sickly-sweet voice, reaching out a hand to grab the skin on Fumei's cheek and pulling. Fumei laughed and swatted Sakura's hand away.

"Sakura-san?"

"Neji-niichan! Tenten-neechan!" Fumei ran into the arms of a grinning Tenten while Neji ruffled Fumei's hair.

"Man, why does everyone keep doing this to me today?" Fumei complained, letting Tenten smack Neji in the arm and fix her hair. "First okaa-san, and now niichan?"

"Okaa-san?" Neji repeated, looking around. "Where's your mother?"

Fumei grinned happily. "Not my _real _mother, but Sakura-neechan said that I could call her okaa-san."

Neji raised an eyebrow and Tenten smiled in understanding. _'Sakura-chan, you just couldn't bear to see someone else being deprived of a caring and loving mother too, huh?'_

Sakura smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head. "Well… my lunch break's almost over, and I have to get some files for Uchiha-san, so see you later?"

"We'll go with you," Tenten replied, taking some bags from Sakura to relieve her of her burdens. "Neji-kun has to attend that meeting anyway. It's a good thing we bought an extra cup of coffee. It was buy 2, get one half-price at the bakery so I just couldn't resist!"

"You're very impulsive, Tenten," Neji murmured, also taking some shopping bags from Sakura. "If we hadn't run into Sakura-san, what would you have done with the extra cup of coffee?"

"Drink it myself, of course!" Tenten punched Neji in the arm. "I don't get _that _hyper from a lot of caffeine."

Neji gave her a flat look that obviously read, 'my ass'. But the word that came out of his mouth were "Hn", instead of the words in his head.

However, just because Neji didn't say a vulgar word in front of Fumei didn't stop Tenten from pummeling Neji with the numerous shopping bags containing Fumei's new things.

-

-

"Are these the designs?" Fumei waved a thick manila folder that was labeled **'Spring Designs (HaruHanabi) (2) – collaboration of Uchiha Enterprises and Hyuuga Designs'** in front of Sakura.

"That's the designs. Thank you, Fumei." Sakura took the folders from the little girl, tucked it under her arm, and grabbed the cup of coffee. "It _was _a good idea for Tenten to buy another cup of coffee–I'm so tired…"

"It's 2:40," Fumei reminded Sakura, who bolted out of the office chair.

"Holy – Come on, Fumei." Sakura took a quick sip from her coffee before walking hurriedly down the hall.

And fate seemed to have been against Sakura that day.

"Okaa-san–look out!" Fumei cried.

It was too late.

Namanomi had been walk-running down the same hall as well (probably to interrupt 'Sasuke-kun's' meeting) and, in her urgency, Namanomi crashed into Sakura.

The cup of coffee flew into the air… and the brown liquid splashed onto both Namanomi and Sakura's clothes. Papers flew everywhere.

Namanomi shrieked in horror as her designer clothes got drenched in coffee; Sakura merely looked dumbfounded, her large, thick glasses a few feet away on the floor, badly broken.

Seething, the brown-haired fiancée of Sakura's boss turned to Sakura, smacked her across the face, and screeched, "You know how much these clothes cost, you skank?!"

Sakura was still recovering from the shock of the coffee, so she murmured a sorry and started picking up the papers that Sasuke had told her to bring.

"I could have you fired for this," Namanomi snarled. "Do you know who I am?! I am Uchiha Sasuke's fiancée!"

"Hey!" Fumei exclaimed angrily, catching Namanomi's attention for the first time. "Sakura-neechan said she was sorry, and besides, it was _your _fault you weren't paying attention." Obviously, Fumei knew that calling Sakura okaa-san would rile up Namanomi even more, so she stuck with calling Sakura neechan.

"Whatever," Namanomi scoffed, walking away. "Just remember that you'll be getting a bill."

Sakura sighed, taking her wet, oversized jacket off. "Great. Just great. _Now _what am I going to do?"

"I have an idea…" Fumei said. "I know where you can get extra clothes."

"I can't see that well without my glasses," Sakura confessed. "You have to lead me to wherever you're going to take me."

Fumei grabbed Sakura's hand. "C'mon, there's no time to waste."

-

-

"Forehead? What the hell happened to you?"

Sakura was surprised when she heard her friend's voice that she forgot to tell Ino to watch her language. "Fumei, why'd you take me to…"

"Ino-neechan's dressing room!" Fumei replied brightly. "I thought she might have some clothes you could borrow, since yours are ruined." Then the black-haired girl explained to Ino, "Neechan bumped into Sasuke-niichan's fiancée and spilled coffee on herself."

Ino started giggling, and Sakura frowned. "Pig, are you going to help me or not? The meeting's in ten minutes, give or take a few minutes."

"Yeesh, forehead. Is that any way to talk to someone who's your savior?" Ino took out some clothes and threw them at Sakura. "And I'll have to do your makeup, of course."

Now, Sakura wasn't _that _blind to not know the basic outlines of the clothes Ino had thrown at her. "Oh, no. You're not going to make me wear these."

Ino started cackling like a madman. "Forehead, you have no idea how much I've wanted to do this. I cannot understand why you refuse to dress nicely, but now…"

Sakura slowly started backing away as Ino started toward her.

-

-

Uchiha Sasuke, in his past, employed more than probably 30 personal assistants.

And he had fired them all.

Why? Simple. They didn't work. If they were female, they would simple stare at him and do nothing except try to stalk him. If they were guys, they were gay.

And gays were more straightforward than regular fangirls.

However, found that Haruno Sakura was actually the first PA that worked. Just this morning, she had cheerfully and dutifully reminded him that he had a meeting with a couple companies to discuss the Spring fashion line.

The only thing that slightly annoyed him was how she dressed. Every day, she came to work dressed in loose, outdated clothes and those hideous glasses. He didn't understand _why_.

But didn't have the time to ponder those thoughts now because he had to convince the management of Suna Hotels to let Uchiha Enterprises and Hyuuga Designs hold their annual Spring Fashion Show there.

"This could be good for all three of our companies," Neji explained to the bosses of Suna Hotels.

"And if the experts of Uchiha Enterprises are right, the Spring fashion line, also known as HaruHanabi, could seriously become a big hit with the world. Stocks for all our companies can skyrocket and bring us a lot of profit," Sasuke added

"That's pretty hard to believe," one of the presidents of Suna Hotels said flatly, arms crossed at his chest, his piercing eyes staring at Sasuke unblinkingly.

-

**The FF Files: Sabaku no Gaara**

**Name: **Sabaku no Gaara

**Age: **23.

**Height: **6'

**Family: **Sabaku no Temari (Older sister); Sabaku no Kankuro (Younger brother); Yashamaru (Uncle, deceased); Parents unknown.

**Occupation: **One of the CEOs of Suna Hotels

**Status: **Single.

-

"What my brother means, Sasuke-san," the woman next to 'her brother' said, "is that we know the designs are good, but what could be so special about this time? I mean, last time, stocks for Suna Hotels _did _go up, but only for a while."

"See for yourself," Sasuke replied coolly, smirking. "My assistant should be here soon with the designs."

As if on cue, his assistant came in with a little black-haired girl by her side.

But she wasn't wearing the clothes she was wearing this morning.

Piercing jade eyes narrowed. _'Is that who I think she is…'_

Sakura was wearing a thin white short-sleeved hoodie-like top that reached about mid-thigh. Underneath the thin material and low-cut neckline, a turquoise-colored tank top could be seen. She wore dark blue skinny jeans to complement her long, slender legs but to contrast with the silky white top she was wearing. Her small feet were covered with simple black flats.

And what was the most surprising of all was her eyes and face. The glasses he hated so much were gone now, revealing her large, sparkling eyes, slightly unfocused because of her bad eyesight. Those emerald-green eyes were brought out by the light eye shadow, and he saw a slight blush on her cheeks.

_**'Whoever did this of a good job on her should get a pay raise.' **_

And Sasuke found himself agreeing with his inner self.

"Sakura-chan? Is that you?"

Sakura cocked her head. "… T…Temari… chan…?"

-

**The FF Files: Sabaku no Temari.**

**Name: **Sabaku no Temari.

**Age: **26.

**Height: **5'10"

**Family: **Sabaku no Gaara (Younger brother); Sabaku no Kankuro (Younger brother); Yashamaru (Uncle, deceased); Parents unknown.

**Occupation: **One of the CEOs of Suna Hotels

**Status: **Single.

-

"Temari-san, Gaara, Kankuro-san… you know my PA?" Sasuke asked, bewildered (although his face or voice didn't show).

"Of course!" Kankuro grinned. "Sakura _almost_ became our sister."

-

**The FF Files: Sabaku no Kankuro.**

**Name: **Sabaku no Kankuro.

**Age: **25.

**Height: **6'1"

**Family: **Sabaku no Gaara (Younger brother); Sabaku no Temari (Older sister); Yashamaru (Uncle, deceased); Parents unknown.

**Occupation: **One of the CEOs of Suna Hotels

**Status: **Single.

-

Before anyone else could say anything, Gaara grunted, "Long story."

"Kankuro-kun, Gaara-kun, you're here too?"

"Long story," Temari said, repeating her brother's words.

"Oh… well… here are those files you wanted, Uchiha-san." Sakura placed the thick folder in front of him and bowed politely.

"Wait for us outside, 'kay?" Kankuro called.

Sakura smiled, before turning and muttering about "killing Ino-pig in a thousand different ways".

_**'Hm, I guess Yamanaka gets that pay raise.'**_

-

-

Sasuke managed to get that deal – did the three "Sand Siblings" seem more agreeable after they saw his pink-haired PA?

"Okaa-san, the meeting's ended!"

"Okaa-san?" Temari's voice sounded appalled from behind Sasuke. "You already have a daughter?"

"No!" Sakura objected, flushing. "It's–"

"No, no, don't deny it. I'm happy for you, Sakura!" Kankuro cut in. "Lemme guess who the father is. Hm… looking at the hair and dark eye color… wait… you and Sasuke had an affair!"

**Thwack.**

"Idiot," Gaara murmured as Sakura, with great accuracy despite her eyesight, hit Kankuro on the back of his head.

"Fumei-chan just wants someone to call her own mother," Sakura said, annoyed. "Being deprived of a mother could do things to you."

"Sakura…" Sasuke said.

His PA looked away from her long-lost friends. "Yes, Uchiha-san? Is there anything you need?"

He shook his head, before muttering something. "You should dress like that more often."

Before Sakura could answer, Naruto (that idiot) ran up. "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Oh – hey, Gaara! Didn't know you were here."

"Yes, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, right! I was passing by your desk, and the phone rang, so since you weren't there, I answered."

"Who was it?" Her bright eyes looked up inquisitively up at the blonde.

"Well… the person on the other line _says _that she's your mother…"

The reactions were immediate.

Temari and Gaara's eyes narrowed.

Kankuro let out a vicious swearword.

And Sakura's eyes widened, her hands clenched, and her whole body became rigid.

Naruto was clueless, but Sasuke noticed. _'What now?'_

-

-

-

So the Sand Sibs make an appearance… and what's this about Sakura's mother?

**(1) **I don't know how to convert regular dollars to yen, so I'm just going to let one U.S. dollar equal 1 yen… I guess it's easier that way, for me. If it causes any inconvenience for readers, please tell me and I'll try to do something about it.

**(2) **Haru means 'Spring' and Hanabi means 'Fireworks'.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Oh, and beware... for something new.


	3. CinderSakura

Alright, so you guys are very sharp. Yes, Sakura's mother died, I know, and you shall have your question answered.

Chapter 3 up. Enjoy.

-

**F a t h e r F i g u r e**

**Summary**:AU Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises, finds a little girl, unconscious in the middle of the road. Little does he know, the little girl can bring him and his new pink-haired personal assistant together. (SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre**: Romance/Drama/Humor

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 3: CinderSakura**

-

_Last time on Father Figure:_

_Before Sakura could answer, Naruto (that idiot) ran up. "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Oh – hey, Gaara! Didn't know you were here."_

_"Yes, Naruto?" Sakura asked._

_"Oh, right! I was passing by your desk, and the phone rang, so since you weren't there, I answered." _

_"Who was it?" Her bright eyes looked up inquisitively up at the blonde._

_"Well… the person on the other line says that she's your mother…"_

_The reactions were immediate._

_Temari and Gaara's eyes narrowed._

_Kankuro let out a vicious swearword._

_And Sakura's eyes widened, her hands clenched, and her whole body became rigid._

_Naruto was clueless, but Sasuke noticed. _'What now?'

-

-

-

Sakura seemed to have frozen. Slowly, however, she gained her composure. "Alright… thanks, Naruto. I'll go get it."

She left unsteadily, Fumei still holding her hand because she was still kind of blinded. Naruto bounded off as well, going to go meet Hinata.

Only the Sand Siblings and Sasuke were left.

"Listen, Sasuke, you have a phone that's interconnected with Sakura-chan's, right?" Kankuro asked hurriedly.

The Uchiha nodded suspiciously. "Why?"

"C'mon," Temari said quickly. "Take us to your office."

He found it quite irking that the three were inviting themselves to his own office, but complied anyway.

After all, Uchihas liked to be well-informed.

-

-

"Sasuke-kun! About that secretary of yours–"

"No one gave you permission to be in my office," Sasuke said coldly to Namanomi, who had been waiting for him in his office chair. "Leave."

"But–"

"Didn't you hear Uchiha?" Gaara said menacingly. "Leave."

With a 'hmph' and a flurry of her ultra mini-skirt, Namanomi left. It was obvious that even though Namanomi was a bold and demanding woman, she was still afraid of Sabaku no Gaara.

"I don't even know why you're engaged to her," Temari commented mildly after the tinted glass door closed shut.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

"Alright," Kankuro rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Let's do some sleuthing."

The four fell quiet as Sasuke lifted the handle of his phone and punched the speaker button.

-

-

"Haruno Sakura here," Sakura said quietly, carefully. Fumei sat on her lap, looking up at her inquisitively but staying silent.

_'That smart girl,'_ Sakura thought fondly.

_"Sakura-chan!" _The pink-haired woman grimaced at the sound of the high-pitched voice.

"Hello, mother," She answered politely.

_"How are you doing, honey?" _The voice was coated in fake honey, and Sakura tensed. What did that woman want… _"How long has it been, two years? Three years?"_

"It's been five," Sakura answered back shortly. "I have work, mother, please. Get to the point."

There was a short silence, someone breathing heavily through the line. She knew that her mother was trying to contain her anger. _"Well, yes, I know honey!" _the woman answered. _"You work for that handsome young Uchiha man!"_

Sakura's green eyes narrowed suspiciously. _'How…' _"Yes," she answered cautiously. "Why?"

_"Well, to be blunt, I'm afraid that your sister and my financial situations aren't going too well right now."_

Then realization dawned on Haruno Sakura. She stayed silent but the woman kept on talking.

_"So I was wondering if you can loan us some money," _the voice asked hopefully.

"I lent you the equivalent of one hundred thousand American dollars six years ago," Sakura replied coldly.

_"Yes, well time goes by!" _the woman tittered, a silver of anger finally entering her voice.

"Good-bye, Mother," Sakura said flatly.

_"Sakura-chan, what are you–"_

But the pink-haired woman had already hung up.

-

-

Temari shook her head in pity. "And I was finally starting to think that Sakura-chan was finally free of that old hag."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. "I thought her parents were deceased."

"They are," Gaara said softly. "The woman that Sakura was speaking to is her stepmother, and the woman who almost became our mother as well."

"Y'see," Kankuro said, "Sakura's mother died when she was six.

"Sakura's father thought that she needed a mother figure around so he married Katsumi – that's her name – quickly. Katsumi also had a daughter named Ami, and both of them made Sakura's life hell.

"Sakura's dad worked as a banker and he did a lot of business overseas. When he was gone on his long trips, they used to work her like a dog. And her father, though he was cared for Sakura, never really found out.

"Then, when Sakura was ten, Sakura's father died. He left her quite some money, and nothing to Katsumi and Ami. However, being Sakura's legal guardian, Katsumi took control of Sakura-chan's money and spent it all on herself and Ami.

"After they ran out of money, Katsumi took Sakura and Ami to Suna.

"We met Sakura at the playground, where Gaara nearly choked her to death."

"What?" Sasuke asked harshly, narrowing his eyes at the redhead, who shrugged.

"But she punched the living daylights out of him," Temari chuckled. "She was probably the only girl that made him cry at that age."

Gaara scowled.

"Anyways," Kankuro continued. "After the playground incident, we became really close. We protected shabby little Haruno Sakura at school from Ami and her cronies and we stuck with her. She really was a delight to us, even Gaara. We even took her home once, when things got a bit hairy at her home, and introduced her to our father. Even he took quite a liking to her.

"Then Katsumi found out about her friendship with us.

"That twisted woman knew that we came from a powerful, rich, and influential family. She used our friendship with Sakura to get to our father and made up a whole sob story to get our father on her side.

"Katsumi and our father would have gotten married but we talked him out of it. We opened his eyes to the truth.

"Our father almost used the law against Katsumi and her abusive ways toward Sakura, but Sakura talked him out of it. Being such a kind-hearted person, she didn't get Katsumi into trouble, and they moved out of Suna again.

"We haven't met face to face until now. Sakura sent us a couple of letters from Konoha Medical University where she had a scholarship, but then the letters suddenly stopped and all ties to her were cut off.

"It's quite a joy to see her again, though the part with Katsumi kind of pisses me off," Kankuro finished.

"A scholarship to KMU?" Sasuke repeated slowly. Konoha Medical University was a prestigious med school for aspiring doctors, where the legendary doctor Tsunade was headmistress.

"Yeah," Temari said. "She studied right under Tsunade. But we're guessing that Katsumi, that bitch, made Sakura drop out. And I was really thinking that Sakura would've made a great doctor."

"Aa…" Sasuke muttered.

"CinderSakura," Gaara said cynically.

-

-

The whole Sakura-Mother phone call incident was soon to be forgotten, for the HaruHanabi fashion show was coming up soon.

Sasuke and his board of trustees (K4, their female counterparts, and the Sand Siblings) were currently picking out models that were going to strut down the runway wearing the HaruHanabi fashion line.

"They're all so ugly!" Ino complained, thumbing through pictures. "The modeling world has gone to the dogs!"

"That one's hot," Naruto said defensively, pointing at a redhead.

Neji coughed.

"Of course, Hinata-chan's hotter!" the blonde said hastily, pecking the blushing Hyuuga on the cheek.

"No, that's not what Ino means," Tenten said, furrowing her brows. "They don't radiate that… aura. That 'rebirth', 'innocence' kind of thing. Something that they're supposed to represent in this show."

"Sasu-nii!"

A dark-haired flurry glomped the Uchiha, and he leaned forward and caught Fumei. "Yes, Fumei?"

"What're you doing?" the little girl asked curiously, looking at the scattered photos of various potential models.

"We're picking out people to wear our fashion line, Fumei-chan!" Naruto explained, just as bouncy as the young girl. "Wanna help?"

"I'll help too!"

Silence.

"N-Namanomi-san…" Hinata acknowledged politely. "I-I thought you were going on v-vacation…"

Namanomi slid into the empty seat next to Sasuke's and wrapped a thin arm around him. "Sasuke-kun, I'm going to be in the show too, aren't I?" She pouted.

"No," Sasuke replied blandly. "Get out."

"Please?" She whined. "What's so bad about being the main model of your fashion line?"

"The main model has to be a kid, Namanomi," Shikamaru sighed. "The essence of innocence and carefree is childhood."

"Like… like… Fumei?" Naruto asked blankly.

"…for once, the dobe's idea isn't that bad," Neji said.

Naruto stuck out his tongue at the male Hyuuga.

"Hey, hey, back to _moi_," Namanomi snarled, hogging the limelight. "Pleeeeeeeeease, Sasuke-kun?"

A muscle jumped in Temari's jaw and Gaara gave his sister a warning look.

"If you get out, maybe," Sasuke said coldly. "Now get out."

That was all it took. Namanomi leaned in closer to Sasuke to kiss him, but he moved away.

"Hmph. Well, ta-ta!" Namanomi waved to Ino.

Ino twitched as the doors slid shut. "As head of the modeling department, I refuse.""We'll see," Kankuro said genially.

"Sasu-nii, why are you engaged to someone like that?" Fumei asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Honestly, I have no idea," Sasuke grunted.

-

-

"Yes, that's it Fumei, you're doing great!"

"My back hurts," the girl groaned.

"No talking!" Ino sang.

Fumei was walking down a long runway, a meter stick tied to her back and a stack of books on her head.

"Porker, are you sure you're not going to hard on her?" Sakura asked, entering the large hall after Sasuke.

"Nonsense, Forehead. This is standard training. Oh, hey Sasuke." Ino switched the CD of the boom box to something faster. "Alright, Fumei-chan, walk faster now!"

"Save me, okaa-san!" Fumei wailed in mock misery, walking perfectly.

Sakura laughed. "C'mon, Fumei-chan. I'm sure it's not as hard as you're making it out to be."

"…Forehead, are you serious?" A dark aura of menace seemed to cover Ino. The blonde looked up with an evil glint in her eyes.

"Uhm… porker, chill."

"GET BACK HERE!!!"

-

-

"My back hurts," the woman groaned.

"I told you so!" Fumei said victoriously, watching from the side as Sakura, in three-inch heels, walked down the runway with a meter stick strapped to her back and a stack of thick hardcover books on her head.

Sasuke chuckled.

"Don't trip down the aisle!" Ino shouted. "Strut, dammit! Be graceful!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Geez, porker. Fine."

With amazing grace, Sakura set her face into a slight pout and strutted down the runway, flipping her hair at the end.

"Happy?"

Ino stared, as did Fumei, Sasuke, and the whole Konoha and Suna group that had just entered to get the final preparations ready for the fashion show the next day.

"That was… _sexy_," Tenten gasped.

Sakura blinked. "Ehr?"

"I didn't know that you were a natural-born model, Sakura-chan!" Temari whooped.

"Che, whatever," Sakura said, blushing. Carefully removing the books and meter stick from her, she turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san, you have a meeting in two hours. With the lighting department."

-

-

This was it.

The show.

Businesspeople and celebrities were all there, sitting in their seats, waiting. The runway was pitch-black and quiet, only a couple lights seemingly driving the shadows away.

However, backstage was a different story. Models were running around everywhere, receiving their clothes.

"This is going to be a success," Gaara observed. "There are a whole bunch of people here."

"Aa," Sasuke said. "We're going to bring in a lot of money."

"Ugh! Sasuke-teme, we have a problem," Naruto ran up to Sasuke.

"Hn?"

"It's Fumei…"

"What about her?" Neji asked sharply. "Is she not here?"

"No, she's here," Tenten appeared next to Naruto, all dressed in her first set of clothes. "It's just that… she refuses to work with Namanomi."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru groaned. "Who else is she going to work with?"

As if on cue, Fumei ran up to Sasuke. "No! You can't make me!"

"C'mon, Fumei-chan," Sakura panted, catching up to Fumei. "It's just walking down the runway once with Namanomi-san, just the finale."

"She called me a snot-nosed brat!" Fumei burst out angrily.

Sakura stopped. "I'm sure she has her reasons," she said soothingly. The pink-haired woman looked up to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san…?"

"You can't make me!" Fumei cried as Namanomi walked up to the gang.

"Sasuke-kun, the brat won't listen," Namanomi snarled in irritation.

Sasuke stared blankly and turned to Ino. "When was Namanomi part of the finale?"

Ino stared back blankly. "She told me that you gave her permission."

"Heh," Temari chuckled. "You sly girl. Get out of those clothes," she told Namanomi. "You're not the main co-model."

"Then who is?" Namanomi demanded. "Obviously, I'm the only one. The others are backup."

Kankuro smirked. "I nominate Haruno Sakura."

The rose-haired woman blinked. "But I have no modeling experience," she said slowly, backing away.

…

…

…

"GET HER!!!"

-

-

The lights intensified, and Sasuke stepped out to the stage and was greeted by applause.

"Good evening, my name is Uchiha Sasuke, as you may all know. Welcome to the HaruHanabi fashion show, where you will learn the true meaning of 'dynamic'. Uchiha Enterprises and Hyuuga Designs are proud to present to you…"

Then everything went pitch-dark.

A small speck of light, and crackling screens in the background.

The large screens came to life, showing a close-up of Ino's face, her blue eyes hauntingly standing out.

"_HaruHanabi_."

Ino stepped out and started strutting down the aisle in perfect sync with the upbeat music. On the screen, her lips were moving with the words of the music, as if she were singing. The real Ino had reached the end of the stage, flipping her curled hair sassily. She twirled in her purple halter dress and walked back, never tripping once in her black, thigh-length leather boots.

Applause and hoots of satisfaction.

The screen flickered to an image of Tenten, who was running through darkness, her lips forming the words of the song.

The real Tenten, at the back of the stage, winked. She started walking confidently in her flip-flops and cargo shorts, the hood of her sleeveless red hoodie falling back to reveal her thick, braided hair.

Indeed, the show was a big hit.

Even Hinata seemed to lose all her inhibitions as she walked out and basked in the light, her dark blue sequined top and denim skirt sparkling in the light. She never messed up once, even offering an intense glare to the audience before turning around and retreating. Her screen self was in a cathedral, kneeling and mouthing the words of the song with her eyes closed.

However, the finale was really something else.

The screens flickered once again to images of a sakura tree and the spectators were awestruck as sakura petals began falling from all directions.

The sakura petals were only holograms being projected by projectors in various places, strategically placed by Nara Shikamaru. However, as the sakura petals made contact with anything, the disappeared in a flash of light.

And Fumei walked down the aisle. She was dressed in a light pink spaghetti-strap dress, the ruffles bouncing off her knee. She raised the brim of her wide hat, which was pinned with flowers and smiled dazzlingly. She walked gracefully in her toeless, ankle-length sandals.

Halfway during the journey down the runway, Sakura appeared, a small blush on her cheeks. Dressed in a thigh length, short-sleeved black kimono-like top with pink accents, she glided down the runway in her skinny jeans and flats. A small charm with the Uchiha symbol, an uchiwa fan, dangled off her red obi.

Fumei waited for Sakura to reach the end of the runway, and both females walked back together.

After Sakura and Fumei disappeared from the audience's eyes, everything went dark. Only the sakura petals kept falling.

And everyone stood, clapping and whistling in approval.

-

-

"You were great, Fumei-chan!" Sakura hugged the girl, who hugged back.

"You were great too, okaa-san."

"GOOD JOB, EVERYONE!" Naruto shouted to the crew, the models, and the gang. "You know what this means…"

…

…

…

"PARTYYYYY!!!" Ino and Naruto screamed at the same time.

-

-

The after party was indeed hectic.

Sakura steered clear of the crowd, only looking after Fumei and sticking by Sasuke's side. As his PA, she had to stay with him at all times.

However, in all the confusion, she and Fumei had lost the raven-haired Uchiha and were now looking for him.

"I think he's there," Fumei squinted and pointed in a direction.

"Alright, let's go," Sakura sighed.

They eased through the crowd, apologizing as they stepped on various people's toes.

"I told you so," Fumei said smugly as they saw the familiar hairstyle of Uchiha Sasuke.

When Sakura saw the person Sasuke was talking to, she gasped.

And both Sasuke and the person turned to her.

"Sakura," Sasuke greeted, looking a bit bewildered at her expression. "Do you know…?"

"Sakura-chan, it's been a long time," the man beside him said smoothly. "How have you been?"

-

-

-

Ehr. Not even 3,000 words. I kind of got rusty, ne? Sorry.

I hope that everything about Sakura's family has gotten cleared up.

And… yeah. Let me just establish that this is the real world (kind of). Which means I'm using real countries like Japan and the US for the setting. This takes place in Japan, obviously, near Tokyo. Konoha, Suna, Mist, all those places, they're just going to be considered districts. Mhm. Yeah.

The songs I was listening to when typing the fashion show scene was _'Audition' _by Younha and _'Brightdown' _by Nami Tamaki.

Thanks to **M.J.Kay**, **onyXcherry**, **animeloverxoxox**, **Pyra Opal**, **Rae Ahn Mae**, **BuBBly CaNis luPus**, **Ribs On The Run**, **Cookie Yuki**, **QuicksilverWitch**, **Dolphinbreeze**, **NinjaNitaRamenChan**, **Roses of Sharon**, **BrokenHeartedCherry**, **ramenlova610**, **kitkatkitty435**, **Patamon Cutie 13**, **Sakuraangel1327**, **SwiftWolfgirl44**, **KoolKittyKat256**, **xokatherine229**, **Winter Thunder**, **KawaiiUsako**, **Flyingone911**, **mak0-ch1**, **gladdecease**, **xXCherry-BlossoM-FaNXx**, **Sakura-Girl 2005**, **PowerfulMiko**, **hizmit12-waterlilly3721**, **sakura725**, **Luffly Emi**, **ihearttoast09**, **xXbunnyholicXx**, **princessa-luv**, **asianangelgirl**, **tomorrowisjustanotherday**, **yourdarkdesire**, **Chibi-Penguin-Chan**, **deedee2034**, **Melon-Cauli**, **Shinkutsuki**, **Da Cute Snowbunny**, **DJ HiHi Kimiko**, **it'sher**, **Beating Heart Baby-face**, **inurdreams21**, **sasusaku143**, **Poet of the Moon**, **Amiee15**, **fleeting thought**, **Lioness Of the fire**, **93addict**, **SakuraRoxMySox**, **Frank Was Not Like Other Sheep**, **alexthegreat123**, **SasukeandNejicuties**, **prosopagnosia**, **XXDragonheart6XX**, **amaryllisstar**, **Purplecherry5**, **Little Minamino**, **Depressing Truths**, **Pink Shinobi**, **Kawaii IceCream**, **gaarafaves**, **chakra spirit**, **J.a.M.i.16**, **ninja-kyoko**, **Breanna91**, **AzNwitBra1Nz**, **STEVEO 352**, **furryhatlover2543**, **TakemenowTish**, **Blackblossom93**, **Kairi-Sama**, **Angelsorceress**, **xXstardust401Xx**, **Monkeyluv4646**, **pinkcherryblossom225**, **Haine-chan**, **7nmelz**, **missysillivan**, **darkpetaltaki**, **Phantasm Whisperer**, **zenbon zakura**, **TaniHime**, **silverymoonfire**, **eleanaleone**, **Sagitarious Devil**, **Sexy.Black.Neko**, **lolsuzie**, **-my-name-is-V-**, **sasukefan8**, **XxXUntrustedbutLovedXxX**, **Grace Antares Whitlock-Hale**, **xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox**, **anichick23**, **DarknessFlameWolf**, **Andrea8000**, **Hersheys Rocks**, **amylovestakuya**, **VeRnAqUaY**, **Aoi Hana9**, **Animelover XD**, **SakuraUchiha4**, **ch3rrylips**, and **HPBabe91** for reviewing. Damn, that's a lot of people.

until next time. Ja.


	4. Akatsuki

Yus, the almighty death is back.

Wowie, a lot of you guessed Sai, for the mystery boy.

-

**F a t h e r F i g u r e**

**Summary: **[AU] Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises, finds a little girl, unconscious in the middle of the road. Little does he know, the little girl can bring him and his new pink-haired personal assistant together. (SasuSaku)

**Rating**: T (PG-13)

**Genre: **Romance/Drama/Humor

Standard disclaimer applied.

-

**Chapter 4: Akatsuki**

-

_Last time of Father Figure:_

_When Sakura saw the person Sasuke was talking to, she gasped._

_And both Sasuke and the person turned to her._

_"Sakura," Sasuke greeted, looking a bit bewildered at her expression. "Do you know...?"_

_"Sakura-chan, it's been a long time," the man beside him said smoothly. "How have you been?"_

-

-

-

"Sasori-sensei...?" The suffix slipped out of her lips by reflex, and she didn't realize until much later that she had called him that.

-

**The FF Files: Akasuna no Sasori**

**Name: (Akasuna no) Sasori**

**Age: **47

**Height: **5'9"

**Family: **deceased

**Occupation: **Businessman; President of the Suna Puppetry Association; Member of Akatsuki

**Status: **n/a

-

"You know Sasori?" Sasuke was now looking from Sakura to the redheaded man while Fumei was looking up at the stranger with wide, curious eyes.

"Yes," Sasori answered, since Sakura seemed incapable of putting two words together at the moment. "I was one of the art teachers when Sakura was enrolled in a Suna school. I must say you've grown a lot, Sakura."

"Puppetry," Sakura stumbled over the word, unveiling the name of Sasori's class. "I was going to take Deidara-sensei's class... but I was too young back then..." Slowly she gained her composure, a teasing grin making its way to her face. "How old are you now, Sasori-sensei? 60? You don't look a year different, but you should re-dye your hair."

"Forty-seven!" Another voice crowed, coming near the group. "He's a geezer now, Sakura-chan! But yeah, you should have taken sculpting! My class was such a bang! Real art, not this wussy puppetry crap, yeah."

A muscle starting jumping in Sasori's jaw, and Sakura, playing peacemaker, laughed. "Long time no see, Deidara-sensei."

-

**The FF Files: Deidara**

**Name: Deidara (Last name unknown)**

**Age: **33

**Height: **5'11"

**Family: **deceased

**Occupation: **Professional sculptor; Member of Akatsuki

**Status: **n/a

_-_

_"_You looked beautiful onstage," Deidara commented, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Yes, well," Sakura mumbled, flustered by Deidara's flattering comment. "The designers and makeup team should get full credit."

"Nuh-uh!" Fumei finally piped up. "You're beautiful even without makeup, okaa-san."

"Okaa-san?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little too young to have a child that age?" He turned to Fumei, who quickly retreated behind Sakura's back once more.

"Not of Sasuke over here impregnated our dear Sakura-chan at the age of 17," Deidara sniggered, and immediately was smacked over the head by Sasori.

"Deidara-sensei!" Sakura protested with a red face. "Sasuke-san's my _employer_! Besides, he's engaged to Namanomi-san; please don't bring up those kinds of words with a child around..."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Itachi was right, you all are lunatics."

Sasori raised a brow and smiled sardonically. "Does that mean he was a lunatic as well?"

The only Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed Sakura's wrist and dragged her away from the two men. "Come on," he growled, and even as Sakura waved good-bye awkwardly, the two older men were already being swallowed by the crowd.

-

-

"Sasuke-san..." Sakura winced and rubbed her arm, which had red finger marks on it. "Why are you so rude to them? I mean, they're really nice people."

"Only because you had them as art teachers," he replied darkly.

"Who are they, okaa-san?" Fumei asked; miraculously she had not gotten lost in the huge crowd and had managed to stay with Sakura. The afterparty had died down and they were amongst the last of the partygoers. Deidara and Sasori had also left, but not before telling Sakura goodbye. "And what does that word mean? Impr–"

"It's a bad word, Fumei-chan," Sakura replied, sweatdropping. "Deidara-ojisama was just joking around, it's an adult thing."

"Oh." Fumei was silent. "Is Deidara-ojisama the one that looks like a woman?"

Sakura burst out laughing. "Yes, Fumei-chan, Deidara-ojisama is the one that looks like a woman."

Then, sobering up, she turned back to Sasuke. "I mean, how do you know people like Deidara-sensei and Sasori-sensei? I didn't even know they were businessmen."

Sasuke grimaced. "You know that I had a brother, Itachi."

"Yes..?"

"Well he was part of an organization called Akatsuki. Deidara and Sasori are part of is as well."

Sakura gaped as she struggled to recall what she'd read on random little articles on the Internet. "You mean... the group of influential and powerful businessmen?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, them. I never really liked any of them. They were always kind of... twisted in a way... I don't trust them."

-

**The FF Files: Akatsuki**

**Who? **Comprised of Deidara, Akasuna no Sasori, Zetsu, Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi (deceased), Hidan, Kakuzu, Pein, Konan, and 'Tobi'(Uchiha Itachi's replacement)

**What? **Akatsuki is comprised of the most powerful businessmen of all of Japan ranging from all sorts of business fields such as art, banking, etc.

**When? **Akatsuki has been around a decade longer than K4(refer to chapter 1)

**Where? **Though they have many meeting places, the main HQ is in northern Japan, in the Ame district.

**Why? **N/A.

-

Sakura smiled. "Don't worry about them, Sasuke-san. Just worry about your own business. After all, it was just a chance meeting."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "Yeah..."

-

-

"We saw him."

"Uchiha's brother?" It was a soft, lilting voice – a woman's.

"Yes. It was his show after all. He has grown much, learned much."

"There is no surprise there." This time a male's, one with striking crimson eyes. "And the girl?"

"She does not remember us at all..."

"Good." The male spoke again, his soft yet commanding voice hinting that the conversation was over. "We will have another meeting soon, with everyone, concerning this matter."

Sasori nodded, inclined his head downward as a goodbye, and left the dimly-lit room.

Pein smiled – a beautiful and dangerous thing – and turned to his wife. "Well, Konan, this is going to be much fun, don't you think?"

-

-

Spring quickly went by as Uchiha Enterprises, Hyuuga Designs, and Suna Hotels were suddenly bombarded with reservations and commissions. As Sasuke had predicted, the fashion show _had _been a huge hit. All three companies' stocks began to become near-priceless, the employees' salaries had dramatically shot up, as well as the CEOs' as well. The value of Uchiha Enterprises reached an all-time high, setting a new record in the business world.

Obviously, Sasuke (being the supreme leader of his own company) had even more business appointments, meetings, conferences, and such.

Which meant that Sakura, as his personal assistant, would be bombarded with work as well.

Over the long weeks, Sasuke began to notice the flaws in his PA's work – little typos and grammar errors here and there, lack of coordination, dark circles under her usually vibrant eyes – not that he cared. Kind of. He knew she was smart and was worth keeping, he needed her in top shape to continue with her work.

She knew she was declining in her quality of work as well. She kept falling asleep while taking notes in his meetings, even with two grande cups of coffee. Her patience was getting shorter and shorter. She even had rejected Fumei's offer for a shopping trip.

But that was work, she knew. It was the cold, cruel business world.

So she set herself to pull through. Especially recently, because there was going to be a huge dinner party hosted by Uchiha Enterprises, and this had to be _perfect _in order to please the right people and convince them into making deals with Uchiha Enterprises.

So there they were, talking with the owner of the restaurant they were going to use – Akimichi International. It was highly spoken of, with foods ranging from simple yet high-quality steaks to the most expensive martinis around. Everyone who was anyone had dined there at least once, even at the high costs it demanded from the customers – especially since Nara Shikamaru of all people had chosen it as a favorite.

It was, however, Shikamaru's best friend that owned the family restaurant, so it really wasn't a surprise. The chubby man was not only a great cook but a great eater himself.

-

**The FF Files: Akimichi Chouji**

**Age: **23

**Height: **5'8"

**Family: **Akimichi Chouza (father)

**Occupation: **World-renowned chef, Owner of Akimichi International

**Status: **n/a

-

"So," the chubby man was saying. "How many people do you think will be coming?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who promptly answered. "About two hundred businessmen, but that doesn't include their spouses and such."

Chouji grimaced and echoed Shikamaru's favorite words. "Well that's going to be troublesome."

"It'll be good for your restaurant too, Chouji," Sasuke replied smoothly. "Besides, Uchiha Enterprises will be covering the cost to rent out this place, and for the food consumed as well so you don't need to worry about a thing."

Fumei, who was sitting next to Sakura, pulled on Sasuke's pant leg. "Will there be ice cream?"

Sasuke's eyes softened as he patted the little girl's head. "Yes. But you'll have to eat the appetizers and the main courses first."

Chouji raised a brow at Sasuke's rare... niceness, and turned to Sakura. "He's acting out of character."

Sakura shrugged, pushing her new glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Is he...? Sasuke-san doesn't seem like a complete human ice cube, he's nice to Fumei-chan."

"I'm right here, you know." Sasuke's annoyed voice cut through their conversation.

"Hehe..." Sakura laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, Sasuke-san. I got everything down though..."

"I know." _'You always do.' _

A comfortable silence followed, as the adults watched Fumei rest her head on Sakura's lap.

Then Sasuke's phone vibrated, making Sakura jump.

Casting an annoyed glance at his phone for breaking the silence, Sasuke slid open his phone. "Hello?"

_"Sasuke-kun!"_

He'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere. "What do you want, Namanomi..."

_"Let's go out for some coffee today!"_

"..." Chouji was sniggering and Fumei immediately opted for a look of dislike towards his phone, where Namanomi's voice was loud enough to be heard.

_"I'll see you there in fifteen minutes, okay?"_

_"_Hn." With that, he hung up on her before standing up, signaling that the meeting was over.

Sakura stood up obediently as well, with Fumei following. Her eyebrows creased – it took at least ten minutes to get back to the office, and another ten from the office to the coffeeshop.

Sasuke must have realized that too, because he turned and frowned.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-san," Sakura said airily. "Fumei and I will take the bus, or maybe catch a cab."

Fumei blinked and, as usual, was blunt. "Why are you getting married to a witch, Sasuke-niisan?"

Chouji roared with laughter at Fumei's innocent question wile Sakura sweatdropped. "It's complicated, Fumei-chan."

"You two can come with me, to the coffeeshop," Sasuke decided, putting an end to Fumei's question.

Sakura blinked, taking in the question. "Are you sure...?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "I can't risk an employee and Fumei out in the streets."

Sakura smiled unsurely at him. "Well, okay. Thanks, Sasuke-san." With Fumei, she exited from the five-star restaurant to wait by Sasuke's car.

Chouji grinned after the exit doors slid shut. "You'd better be careful with whom you hang out with, Sasuke. Namanomi, knowing her, just might get the wrong idea."

"Impossible," Sasuke scoffed. "With the way Sakura dresses up, she knows that there's no competition."

"True," the chubby man chuckled. "But the tabloids won't think that."

An almost-look of alarm slithered across Sasuke's face and Chouji shook his head.

"I'm not saying the rumors have started yet. But they will soon enough."

-

-

They had been there for at least half an hour, sitting in the sunlight that filtered through the glass walls of the coffeeshop. Sasuke kept his eyes trained on his watch, and Sakura and Fumei were counting the number of stitches on the high seats of the small couch they were sitting on.

Sasuke's phone vibrated again.

_Namanomi._

With a small scowl, he slid open his phone. "You're not here."

_"I know, sorry Sasuke-kun! My designer just called and asked what I was going to wear to the dinner party, so I had to go there to work on an outfit!"_

"...Whoever said you were going to go there?"

_"Puh-lease, Sasuke-kun. You need me to be the life of the party there! Besides, we've gotta keep the tabloids happy!"_

"...Whatever. So you're not coming?"

_"Sorry, Sasuke-kun! I'll make it up to you somehow–"_

He'd already hung up on her, and had begun to speak to his pink-haired PA. "Namanomi's not coming."

"YES!" Fumei jumped off the couch, pumping a fist into the air and jumping on Sasuke, drawing much attention from other customers.

Sakura laughed at Fumei's cute antics, and a bit nervously as well.

_**'Oh. My. God. If other people looked at us right now, we'd look like a married couple! Kyaa!'**_

_'That's a bad thing! No matter how hot he is, he's engaged to Namanomi-san!'_

_**'Oh, so you **_**do **_**admit that he's hot!'**_

"Sakura."

"Huh?" She snapped back to the real world, and she realized that she had a blush painted onto her cheeks.

Sasuke merely arched a brow. "What do you want?" He asked, gesturing to the menu hung up on one wall.

Sakura jumped from her spot, striding to the cash register. "Oh, no, I'll pay for my own." She then turned to the cashier, a sheepish smile. "A tall Espresso Truffle for me, please–"

"–and a short hot chocolate and chocolate-chip muffin for the child; I'll take a tall cappuccino," Sasuke interjected smoothly, handing a credit card to the confused cashier before Sakura could pull out her wallet. "Fumei, take Sakura back to our booth."

Grinning, the small girl, took the flustered pink-haired Haruno by the hand and skipped back to their sun-bathed booth.

Sasuke returned shortly, miraculously balancing everyone's food in his hand.

"Here, Sasuke-san," Sakura pulled out the equivalent of her order from her wallet and handed it to her boss. "For the coffee."

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "Just think of it as... compensation for working you so hard."

"Hm." Sakura took a sip from her coffee. "Fine... but this better not be coming out of my paycheck, Sasuke-san."

As a bit of her true personality shined through, in the form of her humor, Sasuke's lips curved up into a small but definite smile, and she laughed along with Fumei.

-

-

"Did you get that?"

"Yeah."

"We should send that to her soon, she has deadlines too."

"Yeah, if we send it to her now we can probably have it printed in next week's issue."

-

-

-

Happy New Year everyone! For my faithful reviewers, thanks for sticking with my stories and I. I really do appreciate it.

That was a little bit of SasuSaku fluff for you guys. (Hopefully I didn't make Sasuke too OOC) And yes, the food that the three ordered was Starbucks-inspired.

And Akatsuki, the good guys? Or the bad guys? Even I haven't decided yet :D

Until next time, which may be in a long time o.o


End file.
